Can Mauresmo win Roland Garros?

World No.5 has a lot of achievements to be proud of – two Grand Slam titles, 25 WTA Tour events, a Fed Cup, and four years in the top five. Still, at her home Grand Slam, she has reached only two quarterfinals — in 2003 and 2004. For many players, that would be a great success, but Mauresmo can’t really be satisfied.

It seems that she has some kind of mental block at her home tournament. Amelie admitted that stress played a role in her poor results, especially when she lost to world No.54 Jana Kandarr of Germany in the first round of the 2001 French Open. After this defeat, Amelie won as much as four consecutive tournaments!

Last year, after losing to Vaidisova, the French No. 1 said: “I think people should start looking for me at other tournaments.”

We should never write Amelie off, but even her biggest fans are not so sure she can win. However, this year she has much less pressure on her shoulders, since the French fans have gradually stopped believing she can win the claycourt Grand Slam. “Maybe she can relax a little bit and play her best tennis,” analyst Mary Joe Fernandez said. (via: Roland Garros, ESPN)